We are all used to posting a letter or card and to it being delivered to its destination within a day or so. But how did our postal service start and how did it affect your local area?

The Historic mail route exhibition is an interesting and informative insight into the origins of the Mail Route in North Wales.

It tracks the history of the London to Holyhead horse powered mail route from its creation with the horse back post boys through to the horse drawn coaches and stagecoaches and the perils they faced to its demise at the dawn of the steam trains.

The exhibition will first go on public display at the Edith Bankes Memorial Hall in Northop 5.30pm to 8pm on February 11 and then open to the public all day Saturday February 12.

The exhibition has been created by Northop Heritage with the support of the Royal Mail and Cadwyn Clwyd.

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For those who mourn next day post deliveries, imagine a time when the mail man was fined for failing to deliver, a time when if the mail coach was trapped in snow the mail man would have to get on his horse and ensure delivery.

And the ‘spy-in-the-cab’ or tachograph is nothing new - what about a sealed clock placed in your coach in London to record the exact time of your journey.

The fascinating “Historic Mail Route” across North Wales is a travelling exhibition, put together by Northop Heritage group and financed through rural development agency Cadwyn Clwyd, Flintshire County Council and the Northop Community Council.

Cadwyn Clwyd is funding from their Community Heritage Project, which is financed as part of the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Assembly Government.

Adam Bishop, Cadwyn Clwyd Heritage Officer, said: “Until the coming of the railway the mail coach was the way to travel and it is an enthralling story.

This site of a mediaeval fortified house and hamlet is near the Horticultural College in Northop. There were earlier buildings there, probably dating from Saxon times, timber built, and superseded by a stone castle or palace in the 13th century. The last building on the site was erected in the early 14th century but no masonry can now be seen, although traces of moats and mounds can still be discerned.

Edwin of Tegeingl was a chieftain to whom many famous Flintshire families attributed their origin. He was killed about 1073. Llys Edwin remained in the same family until the time of Owain Glyndwr in the early 15th century.

The site was excavated in the 1930s but over the years it has gradually degraded with scrub and trees growing on it.

CADW has now been persuaded to take an interest in the site and it is planning an event to raise awareness, an open evening with talks and walks and the start of an action plan. This is likely to be some time in June.

Northop Heritage Group have unveiled a new information board in the village car park depicting the popular Northop Heritage Trail. Previously only available as a leaflet or on this website, the Trail can now be seen by anyone arriving in the village. The Trail focusses on Northop's role as a resting point on the old London to Holyhead Stage Coach route. In its heyday the village had seven inns to accommodate passengers and service the horses. The Heritage Group were joined by Sandy Mewies AM, Cllr Mel Higham and Cllr Rob Mackie for the official ribbon cutting ceremony.

Northop Heritage Group has designed and set up a heritage trail which describes buildings and other features predominantly in the Conservation Area. This has lead to a renewed interest in the villages history both within the village, local schools and the wider area. You can obtain your free copy by downloading a PDF of the trail from this link....